US forces boarded an oil tanker after a cat-and-mouse chase from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, the Pentagon said, as Washington expands its geographic scope in an ongoing crackdown on a global shadow fleet used to export sanctioned crude. The Aquila II had departed from the Jose terminal in Venezuela in early December and appeared to be bound for China, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The ship was intercepted while heading toward the Sunda Strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It’s the latest Venezuela-linked ship the US has taken control of since December, and the furthest from Caribbean waters, underscoring how far Washington is prepared to go to enforce its energy quarantine worldwide. The Suezmax vessel, able to haul about 1 million barrels of oil, was sanctioned for its involvement in the Russian oil trade following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Although it was sailing under the flag of Panama when it was sanctioned by the US, as a Treasury Sanctions list search shows, it now appears to be operating under an unknown flag, according to the Equasis international shipping database and Bloomberg data. Previous US tanker seizures were executed before and after US forces captured and removed former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a highly-coordinated operation that included air strikes on Caracas. The last such incident took place in late January, when Motor Vessel Sagitta was captured in the Caribbean Sea. The Trump administration has pledged to crack down on Venezuela’s use of sanctioned ships, which often deploy deceptive satellite positioning signals, false flags and other misleading techniques to illegally export oil and other goods.  On Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon was pursuing dark fleet vessels carrying Venezuelan crude around the world.  “The only guidance I gave to my military commanders is,

The Indian Coast Guard seized three tankers that it said were involved in oil smuggling, the first sign of the country getting tough on the so-called dark fleet.  The three ships were taken in the waters off Mumbai on Friday by the coast guard, which said in a post on X that it had “busted an international oil-smuggling racket” and that the vessels had been known to “frequently change identity.”  It’s the first time New Delhi has taken such action, according to people familiar with the Indian shipping industry, and comes as the US and Europe lead an effort to get tougher on vessels moving sanctioned oil. Many dark fleet tankers have sub-standard documentation, improper or fake flag registrations and poor maintenance, posing security and maritime safety risks.  The seizures are also happening as Washington pressures New Delhi to stop taking Russian crude, as part of a deal to cut import tariffs on the South Asian nation. India said early last year that it wouldn’t allow sanctioned tankers to discharge at its ports. Explainer: How Trump Is Testing India’s US-Russia Balancing Act The coast guard didn’t name the vessels it had seized, but shared photos of them in its post. The pictures matched past images of the Chiltern, Asphalt Star and Stellar Ruby that can be found on MarineTraffic, a ship-tracking intelligence platform.  Ship-intelligence platform TankerTracker.com identified the same vessels through their unique seven-digit IMO numbers.  All three ships were sanctioned by Washington last year for links to the Iranian oil trade.  Nobody responded to emails seeking comment at offices of the registered owners of the tankers as listed on the Equasis database. Calls made to the owners and manager of Chiltern and Asphalt Star were directed to voice mail. Calls made to the owner and manager of Stellar Ruby were not answered. The three vessels seized by

Expand Energy Corp. said Domenic “Nick” Dell’Osso, Jr. stepped down as chief executive officer as the largest US natural gas producer plans to relocate its headquarters to Houston from Oklahoma City in mid-2026. Michael Wichterich, Expand’s chairman, will assume the role of interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement, the company said Monday in a statement. Dell’Osso will serve as an external adviser for an unspecified period. “The relocation, which will primarily focus on the executive leadership team, will strengthen Expand Energy’s relationships with key industry and commercial partners,” the company said in the statement. Moreover, “virtually all Oklahoma City employees will be unaffected” by the change in headquarters, beyond those executive leaders, Wichterich told employees in an internal email seen by Bloomberg. Expand’s shares dropped as much as 8.9%, the most since July. The abrupt change in leadership comes less than six months after the Chief Financial Officer Mohit Singh left the company, which cited his “termination without cause.” RBC Capital Markets equity analyst Scott Hanold, who said he met with Expand’s leadership Monday morning, wrote in a note to clients that the conversation indicated “there were no disagreements or anything improper” and the executive change is the result of Dell’Osso choosing to stay in Oklahoma City. Expand’s board of directors views the move of executive functions to Houston as “urgent” to supporting “marketing efforts and commercial efforts,” Hanold said. Dell’Osso joined Chesapeake Energy, which was renamed Expand Energy after acquiring rival driller Southwestern Energy, in 2008 after working as an investment banker at Jefferies. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

Equinor announced, in a statement posted on its website recently, that it has signed an agreement with Vista Energy to divest its full onshore position in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta basin. The company said the transaction includes Equinor’s 30 percent non-operated interest in the Bandurria Sur asset and its 50 percent non-operated interest in the Bajo del Toro asset. Equinor noted that its Argentinian offshore acreage is not affected by the transaction. The total consideration is valued at around $1.1 billion, Equinor highlighted in the statement, adding that, at closing, the company will receive an upfront cash payment of $550 million as well as shares in Vista. The consideration also includes contingent payments linked to production and oil prices over a five-year period, according to the statement, which noted that the transaction has an effective date of July 1, 2025. “We are realizing value from two high-quality assets we have actively developed as we continue to high-grade our international portfolio,” Philippe Mathieu, executive vice president for Exploration & Production International at Equinor, said in the statement. “This transaction strengthens Equinor’s financial flexibility as we evaluate opportunities in our core international markets, where we see substantial growth towards 2030. At the same time, we retain optionality through our offshore positions in Argentina,” he added. Chris Golden, senior vice president for the U.S. and Argentina in Exploration & Production International, said in the statement, “this is a value-driven decision that enhances the resilience of our international portfolio and sharpens our focus in Argentina”. Equinor noted in its statement that closing of the transaction “will, among other things, be subject to relevant approvals”. The company highlighted that it has been present in Argentina since 2017, “entering the Vaca Muerta through a joint exploration agreement with YPF on the Bajo del Toro asset”. The onshore

In a BofA Global Research report sent to Rigzone last month, analysts offered a comparison of global “big oil” companies. “After a portfolio comparison note on XOM/CVX last year, we respond to significant investor interest in widening the sample to all five integrated oil companies (ExxonMobil [XOM], Chevron [CVX], BP, TotalEnergies [TTE], Shell [SHEL]),” the analysts noted in the report. “The U.S. Integrateds on average have much bigger U.S. shale footprints, more oil in the upstream mix (vs gas), more near-term production growth, higher CF/bbl, longer reserve life, higher refining margins due to bigger U.S. footprints, and lower debt,” they added. “However, their remaining 3-4x EV/EBITDA premium still seems overdone – particularly considering the Europeans’ higher share of long-life assets,” they continued. In the report, the analysts stated that Chevron has “the highest share of upstream in earnings at 82 percent, with TTE the lowest at 62 percent”. “Europe’s Integrateds instead have more sizeable midstream, refining/chems and/or low carbon segments,” they added. “Notably, both XOM and CVX have ~40 percent of their upstream in U.S. shale, compared to ~25 percent for BP and “U.S. barrels tend to be relatively high cash flow for all five, but the longer-life barrels carry less capital intensity. Woodmac’s estimates of 2P reserves are 25 years for XOM, 20 for CVX, TTE, BP, and 16 for SHEL,” the analysts went on to state. The analysts also noted that XOM and TTE “offer highest production growth at 20 percent from 2025-30”. “Refining net cash margins are ~$10/bbl at CVX and XOM, $9/bbl at SHEL, $8/bbl at TTE and $6/bbl at BP,” they said. In the comparison report, the analysts said “XOM stands out for the most refining/chems, highest CF/boe, and the most production growth (mostly from US shale) to 2030”. “CVX stands out for its 2026 cash flow inflection and highest share of upstream in the

Transocean Ltd and Valaris Limited announced, in a joint statement, the signing of a definitive agreement to combine the two companies. Under the agreement, Transocean will acquire Valaris in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $5.8 billion, the statement noted. The shareholding percentages of the combined company, on a fully diluted basis, will be approximately 53 percent for Transocean and 47 percent for Valaris, according to the statement. Valaris shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 15.235 shares of Transocean stock for each common share of Valaris under the terms of the all-stock transaction, the statement highlighted. Based on the closing prices of Transocean and Valaris on February 6, the transaction implies a combined enterprise value of approximately $17 billion, the statement noted. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, and approvals by the shareholders of each company, the joint statement said. The statement outlined that the deal “creates an industry leader with a diversified offshore fleet of 73 rigs, including 33 ultra-deepwater drillships, nine semisubmersibles and 31 modern jackups, to meet emerging growth opportunities”. It also “expands reach and customer access in world’s most attractive offshore basins” and “unlocks more than $200 million in identified cost synergies”, the statement highlighted, adding that it “increases cash flow, accelerates deleveraging, and strengthens financial flexibility”. Keelan Adamson, Transocean President and Chief Executive Officer, said in the statement, “this transaction creates a very attractive investment in the offshore drilling industry, differentiated by the best fleet, proven people, leading technologies, and unequalled customer service”. “The powerful combination is well-timed to capitalize on an emerging, multi-year offshore drilling upcycle. Investors and our global customers will benefit from our expanded fleet of best-in-class, high-specification rigs,” he added. “We have identified more than $200 million in